The Not-so-Quiet Retirement of the Raynor Family
by epiclink8480
Summary: James Raynor thought that he could live the rest of his years in calm, peaceful retirement. However, things are never calm when the Raider King is involved. Plus, marrying the Queen of the Zerg didn't help his chances for normalcy either. So much for retirement. Series of one-shot stories set in a slightly AU universe. Takes place after LOTV.
1. War on The Homefront

War on the Homefront

Eight years into retirement, James Raynor is just trying to make a life for his new family. But of course, things never go how we wish them to, and with the arrival of old enemies, his recently quiet life is about to have a bit more action than he had planned on.

James Raynor was not having a good day. Eight years into retirement and an army of Hybrids lands on his doorstep seeking vengeance for the death of Amon. Needless to say, his retirement plan didn't include a firefight with the sector's worst enemies since the brood wars. Hopefully these were just the last remnants of the hybrid army, after all, there were only about 50 in total here. Nothing, compared to the army he had had to deal with in the final legs of the Xel'naga War. Still, 50 hybrids was still too much for the military force of this backwater planet on the edge of the sector to handle. Plus, they had gotten the jump on him.

Turning his head so that he could see through his armor's visor, he sighed as he looked around at what was left of his military base that he had been "assigned" to after the War. Not to say that he had been unhappy with his new day job, it had allowed him to settle down after all these years, but the base was far from a fortress. Two platoons of marines, three Vikings, two medivacs and a single siege tank was all that this planet had had to begin with, after all, who would want to attack a poor farming planet at the edge of the sector full of dust, weeds, and more dust?

All he had left was one platoon, the medivacs, a single Viking craft, and the siege tank, which was now immobile in front of the base thanks to a lucky shot from their adversaries and some lazy maintenance workers. Crap, why does this stuff always happen to him?

Raynor walked around to the front of the base where they had dug themselves in. On his way, he passed the scared forms of the civilians that had been evacuated. They had been lucky, there had been just enough warning to get most of the population into the base before the main enemy force arrived. Lucky for him the population was only about 200 people.

Raynor reached the gate of the compound and examined the damage. He had three bunkers, two missile turrets, and the siege tank left for defence. It would hold, but not for long. He turned around and looked back at the civilians again, searching for two faces in particular.

Ah, there they were, a young girl, 6 years old, with red hair and brown eyes, and a little boy, only 4, with black hair and green eyes. It had taken a lot of convincing and two years of begging, but Sarah had finally agreed on having kids. In fact, after her initial reluctance and subsequent freaking out through the first pregnancy, she was actually overjoyed at having a kid. She said it was "The first good thing" she had brought into this galaxy. They had named their daughter Claire, as Jim had thought that the name sounded as beautiful as the child was. Then, only two years later, they had their second, a boy they called Mathew, after Raynor's long-time second in command.

Raynor was still amazed that Sarah had even been capable of having kids. After all, she had been through more species jumps than anything that had ever lived. Terran, Zerg, back to Terran, back to Zerg, and then freaking _Xel'naga_ , and finally back to Terran, well, mostly. After the whole Xel'naga episode, she had gained the ability to change from her Queen of Blades look to her de-infested Terran look. Abathur had explained it as dominant genes becoming recessive and extreme regenerative capabilities using the genes to rapidly change the phenotype, or something like that. Apparently it was only possible due to the primal Zerg mutagen being more fluid than normal Zerg mutagen. It was really all gibberish to Jim. While Abathur expressed enthusiasm in the ability's use for infiltration and camouflage, both he and Sarah had had a different idea for its use. Namely, a last ditch attempt at normal life, or at least as normal as they could ever manage. Jim was no scientist, but he knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Thank heavens for that whole switching thing, Raynor couldn't imagine being able to settle down in any colony if every time someone saw his now-wife, they soiled themselves. Plus she seemed to be happy just the way she was. With the Zerg Swarm on a tight leash, Arcturus Mengsk dead, and the Dominion reformed, she wasn't really planning on leading any galaxy wide campaigns any time soon.

Speaking of the Swarm, Sarah had basically set them to the goal of co-existence and growth and left them to work it out themselves. As she had said, she wouldn't be the Queen forever, and it was best that they learned how to co-exist with the other races on their own. Still, Sarah was the head of command and had full control over the Swarm. You should never fully trust the Zerg, even Sarah knew that. Fortunately, Zagara had taken Sarah's talks about 'vision' to heart and basically tried to rule like her "Queen" would. "For the glory of the swarm!" and all that.

On another positive note, the rumours that the Zerg swarm had allied themselves with the Raiders and defeated the all-powerful Amon, had earned the Swarm a little gratitude, or at least some respect. Technically, they had helped save the galaxy. That plus the fact that there hadn't been a Zerg attack on a Terran world in years and no new Terran infestations, as per Sarah's orders, meant that sentient infested Terrans, such as Stukov and Sarah, were slowly being allowed to assimilate back into society.

Added benefit to this "switching" ability that she had was that no one would recognise that she was the Queen of the swarm. No, to everyone her she was just Sarah, a soldier who had been infested by the Zerg during the war and had moved here with her husband. She had even found a job being a Zerg "consultant" at a science facility. The pay was decent and she even had a few friends. Life was good.

For almost 7 years now, they had been a happy, if odd, family. Who could have guessed that James Raynor and the ex-Queen of-freaking-Blades would make a great couple, or even parents?

Speaking of his wife, she had left hours ago to round up the brood she had based underground a few kilometres from the settlement. Jim had argued about having a hive so close to town but Sarah had assured him that it was a small subterranean hive only for insurance and that the Zerg living there would never come close to the settlement. He was pretty glad right about now that he had lost that argument, but the reinforcements should have been here an hour ago. He and his men couldn't hold out for much longer, what was taking her so long?

A marine jogged up to him. "Sir, the siege tank is as good as we can make her after that shot on her treads, but we can't make her mobile until we get replacement parts." Raynor sighed. "So she's gonna sit on top of that hill for this whole fight then… Fine, guess it's not the worst that could have happened. What about the soldiers, how are they holding out?"

The marine, Michael, if Raynor remembered correctly, looked up at him. "The men are demoralized. I mean, they just lost half of their friends to those abominations, but they could be worse for wear. We aren't quite dead yet." Mike gave Raynor a half smile, but he could tell that it was just for show, the poor guy was clearly scared for his life.

Raynor had to instill hope in these men, or the battle would be lost even before the hybrids punched through their trenches. "Don't worry private, we got some of the best reinforcements in the galaxy on the way. We just got to hold tight until they arrive, which will be very soon. Later, we can all go have a cold one in the pub. Don't you worry." Raynor put on a confident smile but sighed internally. _Goddammit Sarah, where are you?_

Michael looked up at Raynor again. "Sir" he cleared his throat. "You've been saying that reinforcements have been coming for the past 2 hours. The men and I don't even know what kind of reinforcements we are looking for! What kind of fleet can come to our aid in such short notice?" Mike shifted a bit uncomfortably before continuing. "I believe that you are telling the truth, but some of the _other_ men seem to have the idea that you may be lying to us." He quickly looked down in shame.

Raynor couldn't blame him, two hours of this hell and all he had told them was that a "force" was coming to save them. What was he supposed to have said? _"Oh yeah, don't worry. A giant swarm led by the Queen of the Zerg is coming to save our asses, but don't worry they are all really nice once you get to know them."_ Raynor was pretty sure that would have gone over just as well as if he told them that he was going to nuke the whole base. No, better to keep them in the dark for now. If only Sarah would hurry the heck up.

Raynor put on as confident a face as he could muster and looked the soldier straight in the eyes. "Listen here soldier, this battle isn't over yet and I am sure as hell not gonna let these freaks of nature destroy this settlement. Or else my name isn't James Raynor. Now I know you lot are probably scared shitless, but if I say backup is coming, then it is coming." Jim straightened up and smiled. "You know what? Tell the others that if backup doesn't come within the next half our, they can come and watch me eat my own gun, ya hear?"

At this comment, Michael smiled and gave a small chuckle. Good, Raynor thought, his men need all the laughs they could get. "Well, I still don't know about this backup, but I'll be damned if any of the boys would die now and miss the great raider king eat a gun." He chuckled again. "Okay boss, we'll keep at it, but if these reinforcements don't show, I'm bringing the hot sauce myself." Raynor smiled at the man. "Alright soldier, enough chit chat. I want to see those bunkers still standing when I get there. Hop to!" Mike gave a quick salute before jogging off to go inform the men of their new promise.

Raynor was thinking over how he could actually end up eating a gun if Sarah didn't hurry her carapace-platted ass up, when he noticed a tapping on his suit leg.

Looking down, he saw that it was none other than Claire, looking scared out of her mind. She had obviously been crying. Close behind her was Mathew, looking equally worse for wear.

Jim bent down to get closer to eye level with his kids. "Hey munchkins. Why aren't you with your friends? It's not safe for you to be here." Claire sniffed a bit and Mathew clutched her hand a bit tighter. "Well… *sniff* we got scared, and we don't know what to do, and we can't find mommy anywhere! Is she okay daddy? Did she get hurt? When is she co…coming back?!" Claire burst out into hysterical sobbing and the rest of what she said was unintelligible.

Jim tenderly reached out and pulled his kids into a slightly awkward hug. That was when Mathew spoke. "Daddy… Where is mommy?" He looked up at him with big eyes while Claire was shaking slightly. Damnit, Sarah was always better with comforting the kids. Mom's intuition he guessed.

He put on the most reassuring smile he could muster and told them. "Mommy just had to go and get some help. Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine. If anyone could take on these hybrids, it would be her. Just you wait, when she gets here, the fight will be over before you know it. Your mom is pretty strong you know? Did I ever tell you that she single-handedly defeated two hybrids at once?" Claire smiled a bit at that. "Daddy, you have told that story a billion times! And mom always tells you to quit it. It's getting old."

Raynor beamed at that. Yes, he always bombarded his kids with stories about the war. It was a way to make sure that they understood what it was like. He hoped that they never had to live through anything like he had.

Sarah and Jim had agreed early on that it was best not to hide their pasts from their kids. Any sort of deception, no matter the intentions behind it, would likely come back to bite them in the future. So Claire and Mathew had grown up knowing full well that their dad had been the leader of the Raiders and that their mom was technically leader of the Zerg. Luckily, both of their kids had understood the meaning of the word secret and had yet to tell anyone about their in-famous parents. Thanks the heavens for that. Jim couldn't imagine having to uproot the family and move to a different planet. It was kind of funny, these two small kids probably had a better idea of what kind of "help" was coming than the rest of the soldiers here. Maybe they will be the only ones not shitting themselves if a hundred hydralisks came slithering to the rescue.

"Well, just like I told the nice marine earlier, you just have to wait a bit longer. Now remember what mommy and I told you. Stay together and stay safe. Now go back to the rest of your friends okay?"

Finally, Claire seemed to have composed herself enough to talk. In fact she smiled up at Raynor and giggled. "But daddy, we want to know how you plan to eat your gun!" Both she and Mathew giggled at that. Gee, word travels fast in a locked down military base.

Jim was about to answer when the sound of an explosion rocked the base, and the marine from earlier came sprinting up to the commander. Jim shooed his kids back towards the refugees before turning towards Michael once again.

"Sir! The enemy has broken through the bunker line! They are coming this way!" He gasped, trying to catch his breath.

Damnit, they were toast... Only one thing to do.

"Listen here soldier, I want all of the refugees loaded onto medivacs! We are going to hold the line while they…" Jim was interrupted when the ground heaved violently. The adjutant for the base suddenly broke out on the communication lines. "Warning, Warning. Unclassifiable psionic wave signature detected."

Jim smiled to himself. "On second though soldier, tell the men my gun is not gonna be my last supper. Our backup just arrived." The marine looked concerned. "Uh… sir?"

At that moment two nydus worms burst out of the ground at the base's entrance and unleashed their payloads of hundreds of zerglings onto the unsuspecting hybrids, pushing them back just before they broke into the base. The sky darkened over the marine's heads as overlords bearing banelings dropped their "bombs", thinning out the army of hybrids even more.

Suddenly, a voice in Raynor's head broke him from his astonishment. _Sorry I'm late. I hope I didn't miss the party._

Jim chuckled to himself. "No darlin', you're right on time to be fashionably late, but maybe you shouldn't cut it so close next time." Next to him, Mike looked scared and confused. "Your, backup… was a Zerg swarm?!" Raynor turned to the soldier and looked at the man while trying to keep a straight face. "Only the best Zerg are my backup soldier."

 _Ha ha very funny Jim. Now are you going to tell your troops to fight or at least move out of the way? Or am I going to have to shove them to the side myself?_ Sarah interjected. "Right on it darling." Raynor opened his comm link to his troops. "Okay men, guess Christmas came early for you all, so get your wounded buts inside the compound while our friends here clean up our mess."

The marine just looked at him dumbfounded. "With all due respect sir… What in the blazes is going on?! First we get attacked by the legendary hybrids, then our reinforcements turns out to be the Zerg?! Please tell me I'm dreaming."

Ok, serious time, Raynor had to get the situation with his men under control or he may very well have friendly fire on his hands. Man, never in his life did Raynor ever think that one day shooting Zerg would be considered friendly fire.

"Look soldier, I will explain everything to you boys in the base, but I promise you that these Zerg are on our side in this fight. Just like they were during the Xel'naga war. They were much quicker to call on such short notice than the fleet, and before you ask, yes they are stationed here with the government's permission. Also let's just say that I happen to be close with their leader." He could practically feel Sarah snort as he said that last part. _You could say that again._

Michael looked at Raynor questioningly at first, but then relented. "Sir, after what I have seen today, I'd believe just about anything you say. I just hope that these 'allies' don't turn us into mindless slaves when our backs are turned."

Raynor patted Mike reassuringly on the shoulder. "Don't you worry about that private. I trust these guys just as much as I trust you lot, and believe me, I have more reason to hate the Zerg than most. Dismissed."

With that, Raynor's bewildered men withdrew into the base. Raynor even overheard Michael mutter something about hell freezing over. Skepticism was something Raynor could deal with, outright fear wasn't.

The sounds of fighting were dying down outside the base when Kerrigan psionically contacted Jim again. _I think that's almost the last of them. I'm just going to send my swarm back to the hive before I drop in._ "Ok, we'll be waiting darlin'. I don't need to tell you what would happen if you came waltzing in looking all zergy." Jim felt Sarah laugh again. _Yeah, me and trigger happy rookies tend to get off on the wrong foot if you know what I…_ She paused. _Jim something's wrong._ Sarah broke off. "What is it?" Jim questioned. _I can suddenly feel the civilians' fear again. A hostile may have snuck into the base!_

Raynor broke into a sprint. Shit, the civilians were in danger. Hell, his own kids were in danger! He should have told the marines to stay with the civilians after they withdrew.

He rounded a corner and saw exactly what he feared most. A hybrid was holding his little girl by the neck while the other refugees watched on helplessly. The hybrid seemed to be making a speech of sort, but it seemed to be at its finale. Dammit, he wouldn't make it in time, and even if he did, the hybrid would most likely kill Claire before he could fire a single shot.

"We may have been defeated here today, but Amon's legacy will live eternal! We will not be silenced! Watch how even in your moment of victory you stand helpless against my might!" The hybrid brought its claws closer to Claire's throat. "Any last words little Terran?" The hybrid hissed in glee. Claire sobbed as the hybrid loosened its grip ever so slightly to let her speak. "Mommy! Daddy! Help me! I don't wanna die!" Claire screamed.

Raynor put on a new burst of speed trying desperately to reach his little girl. He watched in horror as the hybrid raised its claws and let out a triumphant roar. It brought its claws slashing down… only to stop suddenly halfway down its swing.

If a hybrid could looked surprised, Raynor imagined that this one was looking that way right now. Dropping Claire as its severed arm fell limply to the ground, it looked down at the bone-like wings protruding out of its chest before dropping to the ground, dead. Behind it, stood Sarah in all her Zergy glory. "That's what you get for messing with my kids." Sarah practically spat at the dead hybrid. Raynor sighed in relief, but also filled with dread. This was good news for Claire, but bad news for Sarah. Now, how to explain this to the rest of his men and the refugees. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. At least this situation didn't involve angry all-powerful alien warriors. Oh… well, at least not ones trying to skin him alive.

"Mommy!" Claire wailed as she latched herself onto her mother's spiny leg. Mathew broke into hysterical sobbing and followed suit. It was a very odd sight, the Queen of the Swarm with two sobbing Terran children clinging to her for comfort. A cold day in hell indeed.

Ignoring the frightened protests from the refugees, Sarah reached down and gently stroked her children's hair with her clawed hands. "It's okay, you're safe now."

While Raynor was relieved by this new development, he could see that the refugees were absolutely mortified. He was pretty sure that some of them would have preferred the hybrid over this. _He_ knew that despite appearances, Sarah was really a good person, even if she was sarcastic and somewhat callous. However, explaining that she really wasn't the villainous Queen of Blades anymore would be like trying to convince the civilians that the Devil had decided to adopt homeless bunnies and start an embroidery club. If only he had thought to guard the civilians after the attack, then Sarah wouldn't have had to step in so suddenly.

Before Raynor could formulate a proper approach to the situation, someone in the crowd spoke out. "Sarah?! God, is that you?"

A woman pushed her way to the front of the crowd. One of Sarah's friends from the lab, Gwen, Jim believed. The woman was a geneticist that specialized in Zerg ecology. She wasn't exactly tall, and had dirty-blonde hair that she always wore in a bun. Plus she had the thickest glasses that Jim had ever seen.

Sarah looked up at her friend. "Uh, hi Gwen." Sarah scratched the back of her head, looking embarrassed.

Jim face-palmed as he finally reached the civilians. _Wonderful social skills Sarah, really._ Still, it could have been worse. He was pretty sure that Sarah felt just as tense as the civilians. Not exactly a situation that either side would have liked to be in. Jeez, talk about being caught with the proverbial 'pants down'.

Gwen's realization had sent murmurs through the crowd. Looks as if Sarah wasn't the 'nobody' that she had thought she was on this planet. Makes sense. An infested Terran tended to get a lot of attention.

Raynor cleared his throat loudly, and everyone turned to look at him. While Sarah looked relived at the redirection of attention, the refugees looked expectant, as if waiting for a fight. Well, they were going to be surprised again.

"Ahem. Civilians, Gwen" He gave Gwen a nod. "I know that you all have just been through what, for most of you, was one of the most terrifying hours of your life, but let me be the bringer of good news by telling you that all hostiles have been eliminated."

Some of the civilians looked relieved, but of course, other's looked confused and some even furious. One in particular, voiced what most of them were thinking. "Well what about that?!" Said a man named George, who pointed accusingly at Sarah. Everyone turned again to stare at Sarah, who still had Claire and Mathew clinging to her legs.

God, Raynor hated George. Every settlement had at least one paranoid whack-job, and George filled in that role for this one. Right from day one he had been vocally against Sarah's mere presence on the planet, as she could quote "spread the Zerg infestation and enslave us all!" He called her spy, traitor and freak among other things, and openly slandered her to anyone who would listen for half a second. Most people ignored his wild antics, but he still stirred the proverbial pot just the same. That was when he thought she was just another infested Terran, he must be having a field day with this new revelation. Of course _he_ would be the one to start spewing shit now.

"You mean to tell us that the threat has been neutralized when the Queen of Blades herself is standing not 6 feet from us?! Have you lost your mind Raynor?! I knew it! Your so-called wife has brainwashed you! I should have known she was the leader of our enemies! This was all just an elaborate infiltration plan wasn't it?!"

People were starting to murmur louder now. "You tell us that everything is fine and dandy and that we should all just go home while the Zerg corrupt this planet and enslave us one by one! Even your children have been taken by them, and still you say that everything is fine?! Have you no soul?! That vile, disgusting thing is going to kill us all, just as she slaughtered entire planets during the Brood Wars! Just another hundred to throw on the pile of billions of people that she has killed!"

Some of the refugees were visibly scared now. Whatever George was doing, it had to stop, or Jim may very well get a lynch mob on his hands. Plus, it was getting harder to try and ignore all of the insults George was throwing at his wife. Thank god Sarah was keeping it together, or he may actually have to resort to force.

George took another deep breath. "Well I'll be. The great James Raynor, just another puppet for the Swarm. I bet that she just uses you like a whore for her beck and call. Is that it?! That sadistic bitch is better left to die in a…"

Raynor stalked up to George and loomed over him, yelling in his face. "You can insult me, you can insult my choices in life, hell, you can even insult my authority, but you may not call _my_ wife a villainous sadistic bitch!" Raynor was seething now. He turned George to face Sarah, "The woman you see standing before you is not the Queen of Blades, and I would be more than happy to show you how villainous _I_ can be to people who insult my family! That so-called evil Zerg Queen just saved all of your lives and killed a hybrid single-handedly just to save a child. So please, tell me again that she should be killed!"

George seemed to redirect his fear at towards Jim at that moment. In fact, the refugees seemed to have forgotten about the Queen of the Swarm, and were now focused on Jim and what he would say next.

Jim sighed and composed himself before continuing. He had to show these people that they were safe and that George was full of bull, just as he always was.

"I understand that you are all scared right now. It has been one hell of a day, but right now you have to trust me that you are no longer in any danger." He motioned to the gate of the base. "Look, all the hybrids and Zerg are gone. You can all rest easy." He walked up to Sarah and put his armored hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. Both Claire and Mathew were still clutching her legs for comfort. "You got this Jim." She said encouragingly.

He turned to face the crowd once again. "Listen, I know that you all think that this here is the Queen of Blades" He motioned to Sarah. "but she isn't. No more than I am a terrorist. Most of you know us, work with us, hell, some of you are even our friends. All I am asking you for is a little trust that we are the same people that you have gotten to know these past years. Zerg or Terran, we are all a community here."

He pointed at Gwen. "Gwen, remember when those zerglings escaped from their holding cells and started wreaking havoc on the lab?" Gwen nodded. "Yeah. Sarah came in and calmed all of them down while we got them back into their cages. I guess I didn't think about it then, but infested Terrans aren't really supposed to be able to control other Zerg are they?" She looked to Sarah for confirmation. "No, they aren't" Sarah confirmed.

This news seemed to relax some of the refugees, encouraging Raynor to keep going.

"And Gary, when you needed primal Zerg DNA samples for experimental vaccines, who was the one that got them for you?" Gary, another lab technician at Sarah's workplace, who was working on a way to prevent pathogenic infestation, spoke up this time. "It was Sarah. She brought me a piece of Carapace that had a combination of Zerg and Human DNA in it for me to base the vaccine on." He turned to his friends. "I don't see why the Queen of Blades would want to help _prevent_ infestation." He turned back towards Sarah. "And I guess that you gave me a sample of yourself?" Sarah looked embarrassed again "Yeah. Sounds kind of gross when you put it that way."

Raynor knew of at least one other instance when Sarah helped her colleagues, and this one was the real kicker. "Hank, when the lab caught fire from a faulty electrical connection, who was the one that dug you out of the burning rubble?" Hank was the janitor for the lab. He had been working late one night when the lab caught fire and he became trapped under 4 feet of burning concrete and rebar. Luckily for him, Sarah had also been working late and had dug him out using her psionic powers and superior strength, even without being in her Zerg form.

Hank looked up at Sarah, who nodded at him to continue. Hank then tuned to face the crowd. "Yeah, I almost died that day. If Sarah hadn't dug me out I wouldn't be here right now. I mean like, I have seen some stuff in my days, but a single woman moving 2 tonnes of rubble with her mind? Crazy. I never really knew her before that day, but hell, she and Raynor even let me sleep on their couch that night so that I wouldn't have to be alone in the aftermath. I mean, if that had some sort of evil ulterior motive, I don't see it. She didn't have to save me. I couldn't give anything in return, and yet she still did." He raised his voice again so that everyone could hear. "I don't know about you but that doesn't seem like the Queen of Blades to me."

George was red in the face and looked as if he would burst. Fuming, he walked right up to Sarah… and punched her in the face, hard.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for a reaction. Sarah didn't even try to dodge it. She just took it, straightened up, and looked George right in the face. "I get that you hate me, you have every right to, but you're going to have to do more than that to make me hate you back."

That just made George angrier. "You bitch! You think that you can be all nice here and that will make up for all of the hell you put the entire human race through?! Will that bring back the billions you butchered?! Will that bring back my wife!? My kids!? All you Zerg are good for is killing things! Where was all that mercy when you burned my town to the ground and infested all of my friends!? I hate you! All of you!"

He punched her in the shoulder this time, but he was getting weaker. "I… hate you…" He choked out, and that was when the tears started to roll down his face. He just sunk to the ground, crying. Claire, bless her soul, cautiously walked out from behind Sarah and put a small hand on George's shoulder.

"It's okay mister. I'm sorry that you lost your wife and kids. That must have been really sad, but, I don't think that is something that my mommy would do."

Sarah reached down and pulled Claire back. "Claire, you don't know that. I was living and doing stuff long before you were born. You don't know what I was like before you were around. It's just, really complicated okay? Leave him be."

Claire just stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "But you wouldn't do something like that! Not the mommy I know!" Claire turned and yelled at the rest of the crowd. "Stop bullying my mom! My mom is not a murderer! She is the best mom in the world and I don't want you hurting her anymore!"

The crowd looked pretty dumbfounded that the little girl had just said all of that, and equally astounded that George the Zerg-hater had burst into tears in front of his most hated enemy. Raynor was equally impressed, he knew that Claire was pretty outspoken, but that was a whole new level. To his and everyone else's surprise, it was actually George that spoke out next.

"No, I guess your mom isn't who we thought she was." He muttered as he stood up and turned to Sarah. George sighed and seemed to let all of the anger and hate flow out of him.

"All these years, I blamed you and all of the Zerg for the death of my family. It was just easier to pin all the blame on you than believe that the Zerg had just been under the control of that old deity Amon. But seeing you now, I can't keep telling myself that you are the same person I saw all those years ago."

He sighed again, composing himself. "I saw you on the day that my family died you know? Our eyes met as I was cowering under some rubble. I just can't convince myself that the eyes of that monster are the same ones that I am looking into right now. I mean, on that day all I saw was rage, hate, and that stupid smug smile, but now, looking at the face I thought belonged to my worst enemy, I just see sorrow and regret." He chuckled a bit. "Plus I'm pretty sure your eye were orange before, not green and purple. No, I have to let go of the past and move on with my life. When you moved here, I thought that I could just use you as my scapegoat for the piece of shit my life has become, and that was before I knew you were the leader of the Swarm. But if I'm honest with myself, my life being shit is just my fault." He reached out a hand "I… Forgive you, Sarah Kerrigan, no, Sarah Raynor, for everything. The Queen of Blades however, can go burn in hell." He smiled a bit "but from what I can tell, I think that she already is."

Sarah smiled and took his hand in hers. "George, I really am sorry for what happened to your family." George let go of Sarah's hand and walked back to the crowd, muttering to himself, "Yeah well, that wasn't _your_ fault anyway."

The refugees seemed to relax for the most part. They were still wary, but truth was that most of them knew Sarah or had heard about her. Some of Sarah's closer friends, like Gwen, Gary, and Hank, even approached her with apologies and questions. Raynor relaxed. He was pretty sure that she could handle curious civilians, especially her friends.

Claire and Mathew were now standing next to Jim, as they had migrated away from their mom when the other adults approached her. "Daddy?" Mathew asked, "Is mom really the Queen of Blades that all of the people at school talk about?" Raynor looked at Sarah again. She looked flustered and a bit confused, but not scary at all. At least not to him. He caught her eye and she gave him a weak smile, giving him a clawed thumbs up that everything was okay.

Jim looked down at his kids again. "Mathew, if your mom was the Queen of Blades, then I wouldn't have married her. Now go wait by the van, I'll drive you home after I get this armour off. I'm pretty sure you mom is going to be here a while."

The kids started to walk to the minivan while Raynor gave one last glance at the mass of refugees. They were starting to gather there things and meander back to their homes. Most of them gave Sarah a very wide berth, but some didn't seem to mind her presence. This had turned into a nice tidbit of Public Relations. Oh well, so much for normalcy and a calm retirement.

Yes, Hybrid attacks had never been a part of the retirement plan he had dreamed up years ago, but hey, neither was marrying the Queen of the Zerg.

As Raynor took one last look at his wife, drowning in a sea of questions, and his beautiful kids, waiting patiently and playing in the dirt by the van, Raynor made the realization that in all honesty he wouldn't have wanted his retirement to be any other way.

Hey, perhaps this day wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

A/N

Hey people! Thanks for reading my first fanfiction ever. I hope you liked it! Please rate and review. I think I will make this a series of one-shots based on the universe I have set up in this story. I tried to make the characters as close to the real ones as possible, but as always, character personalities are somewhat left to interpretation, so please give me your feedback.

Thanks

-epiclink8480


	2. Cookies and Creep

Cookies and Creep

It had been a long week. Raynor had been working nonstop trying to get the recent spike in piracy activities in his assigned region under control, there had been a major chemical spill at Sarah's lab, and the kids had been bombarded with homework in preparation for the Christmas break. Oh, and Hybrids had attacked the planet and Sarah's identity as the leader of the Zerg was revealed to everyone. So, in a nutshell, the Raynor family was in dire need of a good, long break.

Sarah walked in the front door to her family's house on the outskirts of town. She looked around at the familiar sight and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been another long day. Despite having the day off at the lab, she had been out all day working to fix a mess at the hive outside of town.

The newly-hatched Broodmother had thought that it would be a great idea to dump an entire tonne of creep on the highway into town, effectively making it all but impossible for Terran civilian vehicles to move on it. Sure, creep would eventually disappear once the creep tumors were removed, but an entire tonne covering a good kilometre of asphalt would take longer than could be considered acceptable. So, of course, Sarah had to go out and oversee the removal of it, because she was the newly titled, "person for all things Zerg". In hindsight, she had gotten off easy after the hybrid incident earlier in the week. In fact, she considered herself lucky that the entire colony hadn't formed a lynch mob against her, but for heaven's sake, can't she just get a break?

Looking around the single-story house, she noticed that the it was quieter than usual. Claire and Mathew should have been home from school by now, and they always made a ton of noise. Much to her annoyance if she was trying to work.

Walking down the hall, she spotted Jim on a video call with Valerian in the study and decided it was best not to disturb him. Continuing down further she also noted that neither Mathew nor Claire were in their rooms. Good god, if her kids were missing on top of all the stuff she had to deal with today, she was pretty sure that she would have a stress-induced heart attack.

Meandering back into the entranceway, she moved into the living room. Much so Sarah's relief, Mathew and Claire were lying in front of the TV. However, the TV was off and they just sat there looking dejected.

Okay, time for some 'parenting', as Jim so eloquently put it.

"Hey my little swarmlings. What's the matter?" She asked as she sat down on the floor beside them. Mathew looked up at his mom, seeming as depressed as ever. "There's nothing to do." He said sadly. "Nothing is on TV, and I have played all my games a thousand times!" It was Claire's turn to join in on the complaint train. "Even Nibbles is bored!" She said pointing at the dwarf Zergling that they had as a pet. Man, things must be bad if Nibbles was tired, he was always full of energy.

Sarah reached over and picked up the small Zerg who had been sleeping on his dog bed. She gently stroked it on her lap and remembered how funny it was to have a Zerg for a pet. Claire had begged for six months to have a dog, heck, even Jim wanted one. Unfortunately, Mathew turned out to be allergic to fur, so the dog idea had to be shelved indefinitely. But funnily enough, just the day after the bad news about not getting a dog, a batch of Zerglings hatched at the hive had birthed 11 normal sized Zerglings and one small one that was just the right size of tiny to be a pet. Instead of having it melted down into biomass, Sarah had brought it home. It was an instant hit, Claire was so excited that she promptly named it Nibbles and claimed it as her own. So, no dog, but a tiny Zergling. Seems about right for this kind of family.

Nibbles squirmed a bit at first, but then fell asleep right on Sarah's lap. Mathew scooted over and laid his head on his mom's leg, closing his eyes. "I'm just soooo bored." He said tiredly. Man, this was a real funk. The instant that the family got a break, they realized that they had no idea how to spend it.

At that moment, Jim walked into the room. "Oh Sarah, you're home. Listen, I'd love to hear all about the Overlords puking on the freeway, but I've gotta go to the base and redirect some fighters to a freighter under attack by pirates." Great, now Jim was gone too. This day just keeps getting better.

Sarah just sighed. "It wasn't 'puking' it was discharging its load of creep onto the road in order to…" Sarah paused mid-sentence. "You know what? I like the term puking better. Okay, but you are going to get the whole spiel when you get back. I didn't just spend six hours cleaning overlord 'vomit' off the freeway for the hel… heck of it." Sarah looked over at her kids. They both just giggled. "Mommy said a bad word." Mathew whispered to Claire. Jim smiled at that. "Looking forward to it darlin'. Love ya, bye." With one last kiss blown in her direction, James Raynor made his exit.

Claire look up at her mom again. "Well, now that daddy's gone, I have an idea of what we could do." Mathew looked puzzled. "What do you mean?" Even Sarah was intrigued by her daughter's new idea. "Well Claire? What is your budding Idea?" Claire cleared her throat and stood up for dramatic effect. "I think… that we should bake cookies for dad!"

 _Uh-oh._ Sarah thought to herself. Reflecting on the fact that her childhood had consisted mostly of military conditioning, and her adulthood consisted mostly of combat and Zerg, she had many usefull skills at her disposal. Cooking, however, wasn't one of them, as she, and the rest of her family, had learned the hard way. Sarah shuddered at the memory of " _the casserole"_ incident. She really didn't want a repeat of that, or another new kitchen, or a new roof.

"Uh… Claire? I like your idea, I really do, but don't you think that we are a little unqualified for this kind of task?" Claire puffed out her chest and looked confident. "Mom, you have taken down a corrupt emperor and killed a god, I think that us three working together can bake cookies." Mathew looked hopeful too. "Yeah mommy, let's do it! I want chocolate chip cookies, and I'm sure daddy will love them. Plus, I don't think that cookies are as difficult as casserole." It was he and Claire's turn to shiver at the mention of _the incident_.

There was no winning this discussion, and Sarah decided it was best to give cooking another try. She didn't want to live off of take-out forever. "Oh, fine, but you guys are going to be doing most of it." Claire and Mathew both cheered. "Yay! We're gonna bake with mommy!" Claire took Sarah by the hand and led her and her brother into the kitchen. "Don't be so worried mom. It's just cookies. What could possibly go wrong?" Sarah stopped in her tracks. Claire looked up. "What?" Sarah just looked down at her daughter while face-palming. "You said it. You aren't supposed to say things like that Claire. Now it has to go wrong." Claire just laughed. "Mommy, you worry too much. Now let's bake!" _Oh heaven save my house._ Sarah thought to herself as she watched her kids start to look up recipes on their tablet. Well, only one thing to do now…

-2 hours later-

Jim walked into his house after returning home from the base, and man, he smelled something good. _Is that… Cookies?!_ He walked into the kitchen and lo and behold, there was a fresh tray of the most delicious looking chocolate chip cookies. Sarah sat on the couch, eating a plate of cookies while Claire and Mathew were putting more cookies into containers for later.

Jim walked over to his kids. "Hey munchkins, are any of these for me?" Mathew smiled up in pride. "Yep, these are for you daddy!" He held up a fresh plate of cookies. Jim picked up his kids in a big hug. "Well, that's mighty nice of you. Keep up the good work kiddos." He put them down and picked up his plate of cookies, sitting down beside his wife on the couch. Sarah looked at him. "Before you ask, it was Claire's idea to do this and no, we don't have to get a new kitchen." Raynor chuckled a bit. "Hey, I don't mind the house damage as long as I don't have to eat another of your _casseroles._ " Sarah looked annoyed now. "Oh, ha ha. I do something nice for you and you give me flak. Well, make cookies yourself next time you pig…" Raynor silenced her with a kiss. "How bout now darling?" Jim teased. "Ewwwwww!" Both Claire and Mathew said from the kitchen while watching the interaction.

Sarah smiled at Jim this time. "Well, maybe not next time. But watch out, or I might just get inspired to make soufflé next time." Jim laughed again. "Well, next time you decide to speed up cooking using psionics and flammable materials, give me a heads up." Sarah chuckled a bit at that, and the sound melted Jim's heart. "Deal"

Sarah got up to put her plate back in the kitchen. Jim relaxed and bit into a cookie. _Man, these are good._ Just then he noticed nibbles eating a pile of charcoal in the corner. Wait that wasn't charcoal, it was cookies! Suspiciously, he leaned back and looked into the kitchen. There were scorch marks in front of the oven, cookie batter was on everything, and a pot lid was imbedded in the ceiling. _Oh well._ He thought to himself. _At least this isn't the casserole incident all over again._

Raynor relaxed again into the couch and prepared to enjoy the best type of food in the world. The kind made with love, and with his family, probably Creep too.

A/N: Hello again! I just wanted to say thanks for all the support I'm getting for this fic. I mean, 6 or 7 favorites may not seem like a lot, but to be honest I have never really gotten recognition for anything I have posted on the internet before. So thanks.

On other notes, I received a review that was wondering if this is going to be a series. My answer is yes and no. Yes, I plan on writing more chapters, but this is more of a collection of one-shots than a chronological story. Also, exams and summatives are coming up soon so I may not find as much time to write as I had on the winter break. If my muse and time holds out, I hope to make this as long a running story as I can.

What do you lot think of the newest chapter? Would any of you get a pet Zergling? I added a bit more fluff and a bigger role for the kids to make it interesting. As you can see, I am going for a less serious, light read full of humour.

As I said before, feel free to review. I am always looking to improve my writing skills and some constructive feedback goes a long way to helping me improve. Also, feel free to make suggestions as to what you would like to see the new Raynor family doing. I have some ideas, but I would love to hear from you!

As always, stay awesome guys.

-epiclink8480


	3. Nightmares

Nightmares

The Zerg were swarming over Korhal, and at their head was the Queen of Blades herself. It had been a bloody slaughter of millions, and at last, the planet was theirs. The Queen laughed to herself at the sight of such destruction and death. She reveled in the power that coursed through her. The ability to destroy entire worlds on a whim, and now, the Dominion itself.

However, in the back of her mind, in a small insignificant part, Sarah Kerrigan was screaming at her oppressor. God, how did she end up back here?! She had beaten the Queen of Blades! She had been free! " _Foolish human,"_ the Queen sneered at Sarah's feeble attempts to free herself. " _You were never really free of me. We are one and the same. No, as long as you live you will never be free. Forever a monster among men. No one will ever accept you. I won't let them."_

Suddenly, they were not on Korhal anymore. Instead, they were on the Hyperion command deck, which was now a smouldering ruin of corpses and electronics. The Queen looked around at the dead, among them were Matt Horner and Swann, some of Sarah's closest friends. _Oh, god No!_ Sarah beat harder against the intruder in her head, but it was no use. The Queen simply ignored her this time, taking her time to step over the corpses until she arrived at one in particular, lying near the communications table.

Sarah recoiled in horror and despair while the Queen just laughed. For they were looking at the empty dead stare of James Raynor. _"You see? You only cause pain and death to those around you. You think that saving those civilians on that dirt ball of a planet you call a home will get them to accept you? You are only fooling yourself. Death and destruction is the only thing you know how to do. "_ The Queen laughed again as she examined the corpse of Sarah's husband. "Look at your dear husband now." She spoke aloud this time as she leaned forward and looked into Jim's empty eyes. "This is how it is going to end, and you know it." Sarah was sobbing internally now. This was just too much, she wished she were dead. "Oh, don't start crying now, this isn't even the best part yet."

"Mommy?"

 _No… GOD NO STOP!_ Sarah screamed and lashed out with every bit of strength she had, but it was like pounding a brick wall with her fists, nothing made any dents in her mental prison. The Queen smiled evilly and turned around to look at Claire and Mathew who had suddenly appeared on the deck. _No! I beg you stop! Anything but them!_ Sarah screamed again. The queen smiled at Sarah's useless struggle. " _You forget, they are technically my kids now. Pity, I have no idea why you would have settled for such weak Terran children. How useless. Perhaps we should start from scratch."_

Claire and Mathew just stood still looking hopeful as the Queen walked up to them. "You know, kids, you should have listened to your mother." The Queen said as she raised her blade wings. "She is truly the worst person in the universe." The Queen brought her wings sweeping down towards Claire and Mathew. Sarah wailed in sorrow as she watched the realization dawn on her children's faces at what was happening. Claire screamed….

Sarah bolted upright in bed screaming. Realizing where she was, she looked around the room that she and Jim shared in their house. God, another nightmare. They had been becoming less frequent the past few years, but they still made her wake up in a panic and cold sweat.

This one had been the worst in months. It always was when the darkest parts of her mind decided to throw her kids into what was already a steaming mess of post-traumatic stress disorder. It just loved to turn every good thing in her life against her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested against the headboard, crying silently to herself. She looked over to Jim's side of the bed. Of course he had to be on a business trip at this time. God, she felt so alone right now.

Sarah had been sitting huddled on her bed for a few minutes when she heard a creak from the doorway. Wiping her face, she looked up to see Mathew looking concerned. "Mommy? Are you okay? You were screaming." Sarah tried to put on a smile for her son. "It's okay Mathew, just a nightmare. Go back to bed." Mathew put on a pouty face and jumped up on the bed. "It is not okay mommy. Daddy always helps you when this stuff happens, and he isn't here." Crawling up to sit on Jim's side of the bed, Mathew wrapped his small arms around his mom's waist. "So I am going to sit here and be daddy until you feel better." That melted Sarah's heart. She hugged Mathew back and brought him onto her lap, clutching him against her as if he were the only good thing left in the world.

After a few minutes, Mathew turned to look up at his mom. "Mommy? What were you dreaming about? Was a giant spider trying to eat you? That's my worst nightmare." _Wow._ Sarah thought. What she would give to have only that to scare her in the night. The world of a child truly was a simpler place. However, Mathew's prodding only brought back the horror of the dream, and she suddenly didn't feel as comfortable holding him so close to her. She carefully lifted Mathew off her lap and set him on the bed beside her. _Maybe the Queen is right, Mathew shouldn't trust me so much. Not when a single misdirected thought can so easily kill him and all of those I love. That's why I'm an orphan after all. And that was when I was just a human psionic. Couldn't control myself. It would only take one slip-up… Ugh! Get a grip!_ She clenched her fist in frustration. _He is your son for F*** sake. You're exaggerating._

Mathew looked a bit hurt at being pushed away. "I'm sorry mommy. Was it something I said? If it is I'm sorry and won't say it again. Please don't be angry."

Sarah just looked at him sadly. She had hurt his feelings. _Damn it, why can't I do anything right?_ Still, something was bothering her. She felt that she needed to ask him a difficult question. One she really didn't want to know the answer to. "Mathew, have I ever scared you?"

Mathew looked puzzled. "Mommy why would you ask that? You already know the answer. I have never been afraid of you." Sarah was relieved but also a bit conflicted. The words of the Queen in her dream came back to her. _You are only fooling yourself. Death and destruction is the only thing you know how to do._ Sarah turned away from her son. "Maybe you should be…" She said quietly. Mathew had many objections to that statement. "Hey! Don't say that! Why would you scare me? You're the best mommy in the world!"

"Mathew… You're too young to understand. You don't know about what happened in the last decade. I…" She struggled for the right word. "Hurt, a lot of people. I hurt your father. I hurt him, and others, a lot. Sometimes I wonder if it was a good idea deciding to be a mom. Not because I don't love you. I do. I want you guys so badly. It's just, I don't trust myself to not hurt you, or screw up your childhood. All I have ever been good at is hurting people. Even as a kid that was all I was good at." She recalled all of the brutal training in the ghost program. Kill or be killed. Fight or die. It was all she had ever known. "I know nothing about being a normal person. Even less about being a mom. Your dad is the one that's good at that stuff. I'm basically the new-age space Hitler…" Sarah caught herself ranting. "But you don't know who that is either. God, look at me. Giving an emotional dump to a 4 year old!" Sarah groaned and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. _Nice parenting Sarah._

Mathew looked confused, but still he persisted. "Mom, I don't know about this Hitler guy whoever he is, but you are a good mommy." He sat down on his mom's back, playing with the nerve cords she had for hair even in her human form. "Nobody is normal, and if they are, they're boring. And you're not boring." Sarah's mood lifted just a bit at that. _Well, at least I'm not a bore._

Mathew continued to speak as he tried to braid his mom's 'hair'. "You're not scary. Those hybrid thingies 2 weeks ago? Those were really scary. But it was all better when you came and saved us. You're so cool." Mathew became a bit unbalanced as Sarah couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Mathew took a second to balance himself again and continued. "Mommy, you are like, the coolest person ever. Lots of those bug things follow you around and do whatever you tell them! You can move stuff with your mind! You have like, those blade wing things that you can cut stuff with like Whoosh!" Mathew made a bunch of slashing motions with his hands and became unbalanced, falling off his mom's back onto the bed. "Oops, well you get it." He said giggling.

Sarah slowly sat back up, feeling a little better. She scooped up her little boy in her arms. "When did you become so mature?" She asked as she hugged him close. "When daddy left for work and I had to replace him! Duh." Mathew giggled.

Yes, this felt right. Queen of Blades to hell, she wasn't going to let that bitch get in between her and her family. Nightmares are bad, she reminded herself, but they are just dreams. Dreams that can be terrifying and prey on your every insecurity, but still dreams. This, this right here, holding her son in her arms, was reality. Her reality. She just sat there, holding her little bundle of joy, when there was another creak in the doorway.

Turning to look, it was none other than Claire. She looked like she had been crying. "Mommy? I h-had a n-n-nightmare… it was so scary!" Claire ran into the room and jumped on the bed, hugging her mom tightly around the waist. "You and daddy died and I was all alone! Don't go mommy, I need you!" Sarah stroked her daughter's hair with her free hand. "Shh… It's okay. It was just a dream." _That's right, just a dream._

Sarah set Mathew down on her right and Claire on her left, hugging them both tightly. "Mommy's right here." She said quietly. Insecurities be damned, this was how things were supposed to be. She had done so much killing in her life, caused so much pain, and yet these two little bundles of joy trusted her completely. It reminded her that despite what her nightmares told her, the Queen of Blades was dead. And she had been ever since the artifact fired on Char. Sarah was in control now, and she was going to make this work. She had the life she always dreamed of within reach, even if it had a bit more Zerg in it than initially anticipated. Sure it was rough. People avoided her like the plague and she was fairly certain that since the incident two weeks ago some of her co-workers had rallied to get her exiled to the edge of the sector, but she was still holding on. She needed these two bundles of joy, now more than ever. And no dead Zerg Queen, space Hitler rip-off would tell her otherwise.

She looked down lovingly at her kids once more, and said with more conviction than ever.

"Don't worry you guys. I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I had just enough time to get this chapter out before I really have to get down to summatives. I also apologise for the darker tone of this chapter, but I was inspired to make a really meaningful one this time. Thanks to thekellin for giving me some constructive feedback.

On another note, I am sorry to say that I am running low on StarCraft hype right now. I regret starting this fic so late into my StarCraft phase. Unfortunately I go through phases in different fandoms, and I actually haven't played StarCraft all week. That being said I plan on continuing this fic, I may just not update as often as I have been. The love I have for this couple will outlast the hype that I have for the game, don't you guys worry.

That being said, what did you guys think of this chapter? Too dark? Want just comedy? Did I get the character's right? Please review!

Until next time.

-epiclink8480


	4. A Fun Day for Nibbles

**A "Fun" Day for Nibbles**

Nibbles woke up on his dog bed. Man... It was soft, and the sun felt so good this morning. He just lazed there, feeling content and without a care in the world, when a high pitched shriek disturbed him. "Nibbles! Time for a fun day!" Oh no...

It was that time of the week, when the juvenile Terrans were at home. Weekend, was what they called it, but it had been the "weekend" for almost 5 days now! Something they called a "break". What was this madness! He growled quietly and waited for the inevitable man handling from the tiny Terran his Queen called Claire. Right on cue the young female ran towards him and roughly picked him up in her arms. "You cutie you! How is my favourite bug dog today?"

He just looked up at her, trying to look as annoyed as possible. "Don't be all pouty mister! I got you treats!"

Ugh, not another day of… Treats!? Oh god he loved treats. What kind were they? Were they big? Did he get a lot of them?! He was just too excited! He started squirming and making cooing sounds in Claire's arms. "Oh, so we understand that do we? You know Nibbles, sometimes I think you understand what I'm saying."

Well, she wasn't wrong. He understood her intentions, but not nearly as much as his Queen's. The same went for the little Terran's male sibling. The adult male, Jim or something, didn't understand a thing. He was just another useless Terran, but hey, he gave Nibbles the most treats, who was he to complain. Nibbles tolerated his presence in the Queen's domicile, plus the Queen had made it very clear that if Nibbles attacked the older male at all, the Zergling responsible, namely him, would be promptly melted down into biomass. The implications of the consequence were not lost on the Zergling's simple mind.

Claire fed Nibbles some dog treats, which he ate ravenously. Dog treats, cat treats, he didn't care, anything was better than creep. However, the fun was just getting started. "We are going to have so much fun today! You wait here! I'm going to go get my things." She pointed to the floor and motioned stay, then ran off to go get her "supplies". Nibbles understood "stay", and was obliged to obey. So he just sat there in the middle of the floor, biding his time. It was at that moment that his Queen walked into the room.

Sarah had been up late that night researching remedies for the common cold. Unfortunately, Mathew had come down with it a few days ago and was stuck in bed. Sarah didn't get sick with Terran diseases so it fell upon her to nurse her son back to health. Plus, Jim really didn't want to get sick, so he tried to give his son a wide berth in the meantime. He wasn't afraid of germs per se, he just couldn't afford to get sick and miss work.

All that being said, Sarah was tired. All she was thinking about was getting a cup of hot coffee and sitting down in her cartoon Zergling pyjamas for a nice breakfast. In her tired daze, she nearly tripped over Nibbles, who was patiently sitting smack-dab in the middle of the floor. Stumbling as she almost kicked the small Zergling, she exclaimed, "Nibbles? What are you doing there? Get out of the way you stupid bug." Nibbles obeyed and moved almost exactly 3 feet to the right. "Figures…" she muttered to herself as she finally reached the kitchen.

Sarah knew it had to be Claire who had ordered Nibbles to obstruct the hallway. She and Mathew had demonstrated that they both had a limited ability to control Zerg. As soon as Sarah left the house, Nibbles would answer only to the kids as if they were the next in the hive mind chain of command. Whenever Jim tried to get the Zergling to do anything, Nibbles would just growl and look confused. The kids just thought that Nibbles really liked them, but Jim and Sarah knew better. Still, they were both reluctant to test the extent of this control with anything larger than the tiny Zergling. At least not until they were older. Also, Sarah was dead set against the idea of her kids being seriously involved with the Swarm in any way, so being the master of Nibbles would have to suffice for the foreseeable future. Still, it was a bit concerning that a 6 and 4 year old Terran child could control a Zerg organism. Sarah was also pretty sure that both of her kids had psionic potential, as she could sense faint psionic presence from both of them. Oh well, cross that bridge when you get to it. Still, best to remain vigilant.

Sarah was starting to make coffee when Claire came running back into the room with her "supplies". From the looks of it, Nibbles was in for a good deal of "fun" this morning.

"Nibbles! We're going to play damsel in distress today! Since Mathew is sick, you get to be the damsel!" Claire reached into her bag and pulled out a plastic tiara and a tiny pink tutu. Nibbles looked mortified and gave a pleading look at his Queen, who was observing from the kitchen. Sarah just chuckled and sipped her coffee. _Hey, you should feel honoured that she wants to play with you. No other Zergling gets to play with my daughter._ Nibbles understood the honour in living in the Queen's domicile, but he was beginning to get the notion that his role may not be as prestigious as Zagara had made it out to be. _Humour the Terran, do it for the Queen._ He chanted to himself as the Terran girl put the tutu on him and balanced the tiara on his head.

"Oh Nibbles, you are the cutest!" Exclaimed Claire as she finished adjusting the outfit. "Let's go play outside!" Sarah watched as Claire herded a suddenly reluctant Zergling out of the door. "Don't go too far. Okay sweetie?" Sarah yelled at them as they left. "Okay mom! We'll be out back!" Replied Claire.

Claire and Mathew had already set up a mock fort in the back yard, complete with a cardboard bunker and a "hive" made out of purple tarp and rope. She motioned to the hive. "Okay Nibbles. You go and wait by the hive while I put on my armour. Oh, and pretend to be in distress." Nibbles trudged over to the sack of plastic the Terran called a hive and started to make his best whimpering noises. Though Zerglings don't really whimper, so it sounded more like strangled choking. Eh, good enough.

"Okay! I'm ready!" Claire announced as she stepped out of the "bunker". She wore cardboard armour that vaguely resembled that worn by Terran ghosts. Claire had gotten the idea to make it one day when she was rummaging through old boxes in the basement that contained her parent's old stuff. She had come across Sarah's empty rifle and old ghost outfit. Claire thought that they looked really cool, so she asked her parents if she could have stuff just like it. Jim had decided to continue the old Terran tradition of making costumes with his kids, and it turned into a family project. Mathew however, was more interested in his dad's marine armour and wanted to make a fake pair for himself. It had been a fun time for all of them as they worked together as a family to make the mock battlefield in the backyard. Jim had even found some old foam dart guns for the kids to use.

Together, they spent hours outside re-enacting battles and playing make-believe in their home-made fort. Their favourite scenario was defending the base against the Hybrid, who was played by their father. Claire usually took the hive while Mathew took the bunker and they would fire darts at their dad who would throw pillows at them, to imitate psionic attacks. The pillow thing was Sarah's idea as she had once jokingly explained that getting hit by a psionic blast felt like being hit by a giant pillow filled with lead. So pillows were the go-to weapon of choice, minus the lead of course.

Today however, was one of Claire's favourite scenarios. An innocent, alternatingly played by Mathew or Claire, had been captured by Amon's brood and awaited execution at the main hive. The hero then had to fight their way to the base and rescue them. The innocent usually got to control the pop-up targets that they had set up around the base, but Since Nibbles didn't have apposable thumbs, or any hands for that matter, Claire had put all of them up before-hand.

Claire primed her dart gun. "You ready Nibbles? I'm gonna start!" Nibbles made an odd sound half way between a bark and a growl to signal his readiness. "Okay!" Claire put on her battle face. "Don't worry civilian! I, the great Claire Raynor, will save you from these foes!" Claire let out a cute battle cry and started sprinting towards the makeshift hive, shooting the targets along the way.

Nibbles continued to make his improvised distress noises as he watched the tiny Terran run determinedly towards him. Funny, it suddenly struck the Zergling how much the child resembled his Queen. When she was focused and determined, they could practically be called a younger version of her, albeit far more Terran-y looking. He pondered if the Queen looked like this before her assimilation into the Swarm. He also wondered if he was looking at the future Queen of the Swarm, though he doubted it. The Queen got very agitated whenever Zagara brought up the subject regarding her juvenile offspring's capacity for controlling underlings. Future Queen or no, Nibbles sure was glad that this little Terran was on their side. She could grow up into a very influential person.

Claire finally reached the hive, having shot down all of the targets along the way. She dropped her gun and scooped up the Zergling in her arms. "Behold! You are safe now tiny dog-bug thing! Amon has no more say over your fate!" Nibbles limply let this man-handling happen, it wasn't so bad. He looked up at his "saviour" and sarcastically though " _oh yes, my hero."_ Claire looked down at him and beamed. "That's right I am you're hero! Glad you see…" Claire looked shocked at the realization that she understood the Zergling. "You talked! I knew you could! You're not like other Zerglings. You're smarter than them. Wait until I tell mom that you can talk, she is going to be so surprised." Claire walked back into the house holding the little Zergling in her arms.

Nibbles pondered to himself. _The Queen knows I talk, silly Terran. She is going to be very surprised, however, that you finally hear it. Perhaps there is more potential in you than you realize._

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I'm back from exams! Woohoo! So I'm planning to continue writing this fic now that I am free. As always I am always looking for suggestions for chapters. In fact, this one is from a suggestion for more Nibbles from a reviewer, so keep them coming!

So I wanted to write a fic about Nibbles and Claire as I have imagined them being a team throughout life. My idea is that while the kids will probably not be an important part of the swarm when they grow up, they will always have ties to it. Specifically, I have an image of a grown-up Claire being a medic with a tiny Zergling helper and Mathew being a marine with a hydralisk side-kick. But that is waaaay in the future from this fic. Like 15 plus years.

Huh, maybe I should write a fic about them in the future… Meh, too much work. Maybe later, if I can come up with an actual story line. One shots are easy. Actual story? I just don't even know how to begin… I'd need a lot of help. :p

Anyway, love you guys and thanks for reading. ;)

-epiclink8480


	5. Bring Your Kid to Work Day

Bring Your Kid to Work Day… Starcraft Terran Style

It was that day of the year. One of those days that every kid looks forward to with great anticipation. A day when they eagerly await their first exposure to adult life. A time when they get to be a true part of society. Alas, it was the famous, and ancient, bring your kid to work day!

Claire and Mathew had been waiting for this day for months. This year their dad had finally agreed to show them the Terran base he worked at. Yeah they could have gone with their mom to the hive, but that was nothing special. They played there all the time. Plus their mom's day job at the lab was really boring. For the past bring your kid to work days, they had been stuck tagging along with their friends' parents, to other boring jobs like farmers or accountants. This year, they got to see the inner workings of a real life Terran base! A front row seat to action, and an excuse to miss an entire day of school to hang out with their dad! Booya!

Jim woke up at the crack of dawn, and woke his kids at the same time. They groggily had a breakfast of cold cereal and prepared for the day ahead. Jim looked over his kids practically falling asleep in their cereal and cleared his throat to get their attention. "Listen here munchkins, for today, you aren't my kids, you are my subordinates. And that means that you do what I say when I say. For your own safety of course." _Or your mother will hang me out to dry between the tusks of an ultralisk._ He added to himself. "Yes sir!" Both Claire and Mathew looked up and threw a mock salute as they continued to eat their breakfast.

Jim cringed. "Quiet." he whispered. "Don't wake your mother." Claire giggled quietly. "We know daddy." They ate in silence after that. When Jim was finally done his breakfast, he turned again to address his kids. "Okay soldiers, once you finish your breakfast we are heading out for you orientation. Look alive."

Jim left his kids to finish their breakfast as he went over the mental checklist he had made in preparation for this day. Extra water, check. Fed the Zergling? He looked at Nibbles who was happily munching on the rest of the briquettes, err… cookies left over from Sarah's most recent baking endeavour. Ok, that's a check. Left Sarah a note reminding her where we are, check. Sanitary wipes and cloths for the inevitable mess the kids will make, check. Messaged the staff as heads up, check. Looks as if everything was in order. Just in time too, as his kids were waiting patiently at the front door, all packed for the day.

"Hop-to kids. We're taking the minivan. Decide amongst yourselves who gets to ride shotgun"

"I do!" Piped Claire. "Aww, but you always get to ride shotgun…" Complained Mathew. "You brother's right Claire, you gotta share the experience. Mathew rides shotgun on the way there, and you can have it on the way back. Pile in soldiers! We move in five." Claire and Mathew saluted again and climbed in the van while Jim went back inside the house to say bye to Sarah.

Jim quietly opened the door to their shared room and saw Sarah still sound asleep on the bed. _God, she looks so funny when she sleeps._ He thought to himself. Sarah was what Jim called, for lack of a better term, a gymnastic sleeper. Meaning that she usually ended up taking up most of the bed by the time morning came around. From the time that Jim had gotten up until now, she had managed to migrate to his side of the bed and had her head under the pillow instead of on top of it.

Being gentle as not to startle her, he carefully lifted the pillow from on top of her head. Jim snort-laughed to himself. Her mouth was open and she had a pool of drool on the mattress. _Behold, the mighty Queen of Blades._ He thought to himself sarcastically. He shook her gently. "Darlin', I'm leaving now with the kids okay?"

Sarah shifted a bit and mumbled dazedly "Abathur, why is this hydralisk fluffy?" Jim gently shook her again. This time, she slowly opened her eyes and turned to look at him. "Jim? What is it?" Jim laughed quietly. "Gonna take the kids into work now." Sarah looked confused at first, but then remembered what today was. "Okay, have fun. And I don't want to see a single scratch on them when you get back. Capiche?" Jim laughed again and replied sarcastically. "I promise not to void the warranty on our investment." Sarah rolled over and put the pillow back on her head. "You know what I mean…" She mumbled as she went back to sleep. He did, but it was so much fun teasing her. Getting to poke fun at the leader of a terrifying insectoid hive mind was one of the perks in his life.

With that done, Jim left the room and returned to the car where his kids waited patiently. He opened the driver's side door, sat down and started the engine. Turning back to look at his kids again he said "Okay soldiers, who's ready to get to work?" They replied with enthusiasm. "We are!"

It was a 15 minute drive to the compound. The base looked almost good as new, as most of the damage from the hybrid attack had been cleaned up and repaired thanks to the work of his men. He was really lucky to have such a close bond with his brothers in arms. They still stuck out for him, even after all the shit that happened and the truth came spilling out. They would put their lives on the line for him, and he for them. That being said, there were many people around town that were not happy campers about sharing a town with the Ex-Queen of blades. Luckily, only a few of them had worked at his base, and they had all asked for a relocation after the incident. So they wouldn't see them today.

Jim parked the car and ushered the kids out. His second in command, Michael Erikson, came jogging up to meet them. Jim had decided that two adults supervising his kids would be better than one, knowing what kind of crap they could get into. Plus, Michael had been extremely supportive of Jim after the hybrid incident. Apparently, he had a sibling that had been infested by the swarm and had miraculously retained their sentience. He sympathised with Jim's and Sarah's plight of trying to integrate into society. Today, he was more than happy to formally meet the kids of the two most famous/infamous people in the sector.

Mike saluted his commanding officer and stood at attention. "Permission to speak freely sir?" Jim nodded, "Permission granted soldier" Mike looked down at the kids who were looking at him in awe. "You guys must be Claire and Mathew. Nice to meet you guys!" He stuck out a hand and Claire and Mathew shook it in turn.

Jim addressed his kids. "Okay kids! Today we are going to start your orientation at the barracks. Who wants to see real marine armour?" Mathew squealed at this new development. "Oh! I do! I do!" Claire was also enthused, but not nearly as much as her brother. Mathew had a real love for marines and anything marine related. Jim was pretty sure it had something to do with him looking up to his old man, and that made him pretty proud.

As they walked over to the barracks, Mike seized the opportunity to talk to Jim. "Sir, the repairs are finally complete on the siege tank. So it should be ready to move whenever we need it." He paused before adding. "And might I add, your kids are awesome." Jim smiled and looked back at his kids. Mathew was busy telling Claire about all the functions of mechanised marine armour, and how it worked. "Yeah, they really are the best. I would turn over entire planets for them. At this point, I can't imagine my life without them." He turned to look at Mike, with a smile on his face. "But they can sure be a handful at times." He laughed out loud. Yep, for all the hell and grey hairs they gave him, he loved them unlike anything else.

They walked into the barracks as the men were suiting up for the day. "Eww. It smells like feet in here." Claire complained. Mathew on the other hand, was mesmerized by the action around the room. He had the most profound look of awe on his face, you could think he was in his personal heaven. Heck, in many ways, he was. "This is so cool!"

One of the marines, Philip, noticed the kids and laughed out loud. "Hey boss, don't you think you're recruiting a little young? I could fit one of those tykes in my boot!" The other marines laughed at this as well. "Not today Phil. These are my kids, and they might just outrank you one day so make a good impression on them." Jim countered. "Well, first they have to grow up like their Papa." Phil finished suiting up and started to exit the room. "Your dad's a good man Twinkies. Be good to him ya hear?" Both Claire and Mathew saluted. "Yes sir!" They piped. Jim gave Phil a nod. "You have a good day Phil. I'll see you in debrief." Phil gave one last salute and left to go perform his duties.

Jim turned to Mike. "Hey Mike?" Mike raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Yes sir?" "Take the kids to the siege tank and show them how it works, I have to go and retrieve some paperwork from my office." Mike gave a nod "You can count on me sir." Jim gave Mike a reassuring pat on the shoulder and turned to his kids. "Mike here is going to give you a demonstration. So be good, and I'll be back soon."

Mathew jumped up and down for joy, but Claire just rolled her eyes. _Oh man, she definitely gets that from her mother._ Jim walked out of the room giving Mike one last reassuring pat. "Don't blow anything up."

Mike laughed a bit nervously and turned to address the kids. "Ok! Follow me. We're going to see the big guns of our operation." He herded the kids out of the room and started to explain the functions of the famous siege tank. "Now, the tank and its use dates back hundreds of years to what was the First World War back on Earth." He turned to look back at the kids. "Which one of you can tell me what type of artillery they used back then?" The story had gotten Claire's attention, and Mathew was jumping up and down with his hand in the air. "Cannons and big shells that exploded!" He said excitedly. "That's right. Now what use today and we have here is a Crucio-model tank. The latest in mobile heavy artillery. Instead of shells, we have twin 90mm plasma canons in tank mode, and a whopping 180mm shock canon in siege mode. When you hear one of these things roar, you run for the hills and pray that you aren't its target."

Both kids were now captivated by the lesson. "There are two sets of treads on the Crucio for added stability and reliability. The coolest thing is that if one of the treads gets shot, instead of breaking down like a contemporary tank would, a complex system of tubes and fast drying gel replaces and patches damaged tread segments." They rounded a corner and came into view of the factory. Mike seized this opportunity to continue. "Or it would, if the mechanics had done their job!" He yelled in the factory's general direction. The mechanic, Liam, heard him. "Oh, screw off Mike!"

It was at that moment that Jim returned. "Well, looks like you guys are having fun." To Jim's surprise, Claire actually didn't object this time. "Who is ready to see the tank?" Both of the kids got really excited. "Yay!"

They entered the vehicle factory. The Crucio tank was sitting in the corner, looking good as new. Jim called over Liam, who was just putting the finishing touches on some damaged marine armour. "You outdid yourself Liam. The treads look great." Liam walked over to them and glared at Mike. "Well, at least someone appreciates my work." Mike rolled his eyes in return.

Claire and Mathew were amazed by the sheer size of the tank. It was massive, especially compared to their tiny forms. They barely reached the top of the treads at full height.

Jim looked at Liam, who seemed to be enjoying the attention his tank was getting from the kids. "Hey Liam? How about we go for a spin?" Jim proposed. Liam looked up, the eagerness to impress clear on his face. "So long as I drive commander." He said with a smile. Jim turned again to Mike who was looking at his reflection in the side of the tank. "How about you be gunnery chief private?" Mike looked up, visibly pleased by the outstanding offer. "Yes sir!"

Mike was a marine, and as such, he never got the opportunity to touch such heavy artillery, let alone operate it. Sure it was just a short ride around the base, but he was excited nonetheless. Now, he just needed to avoid blowing anything up by accident and maybe they would let him train to be a gunner full time. One can dream right?

Claire and Mathew looked up at their father expectantly. "What are our jobs daddy?" Asked Mathew. "Yeah! What do we get to blow up?" Added Claire. Jim just laughed. "Kiddos, today you are going to be the lookouts. They have the very important job of keeping an eye out for enemies and alerting the driver if they are going to hit anything. Every tank needs a good lookout."

Mathew seemed to have bought the bait. Claire however, looked excited at first, but then the realization struck. "Wait. Isn't that just the same as a passenger?" Jim laughed again and messed up his daughter's bright red hair with his hand. "No silly. Didn't you hear? You are the lookout." Jim bent down and looked Claire in the eye. Lowering his voice so that Mathew couldn't hear. "Between you and me..." He pretended to look around for prying ears. "I need someone to show Mathew how to do it properly. I don't trust just anyone to be my lookout. So what do you say? Can you do this important task for me?" Claire giggled and gave a salute. "You can count on me daddy. I'll make sure Mathew doesn't screw this up."

The old, 'I need you to show your sibling how it's done' tactic. Sometimes all it takes to get a kid to behave is to stroke their ego a bit. Actually, now that Raynor thought about it, that tactic worked for adults too.

"Ok soldiers, pile in!" One by one each person filed into the cockpit. Liam took the driver's seat, Mike sat in the gunner's seat, and Mathew and Claire stood with their heads peeking out of the top hatch. Jim settled himself in the centre next to the ammunition. "Ok, just a short drive around the base and surrounding grounds Liam. And Mike, try not to let your trigger finger get itchy." Mike laughed at this comment and Liam put the tank into gear. "Hold on kids."

They rolled out of the factory and then exited through the front gate. The kids were having a blast. They kept pointing at the various things dotting the landscape, making sure the driver knew the terrain. Claire in particular seemed to be taking the role of lookout to heart, and was even trying to instruct Mathew on the best surveying methods.

A few minutes into the ride, they came across a derelict car in the middle of a large empty plot of dirt. This gave Jim an idea. "He Liam. Let's give this puppy a real test. Face her towards that hunk of junk in the distance." Liam smiled. "Oh, I like where this is going commander." He complied and deployed the stabilization legs of the tank putting it into siege mode. Mike was already training his sights on the rusted car. "Target acquired sir. Ready on your command." Claire and Mathew were jumping up and down in excitement. "We're gonna blow stuff up!" They sang repeatedly. Jim savoured the moment of anticipation for a few seconds before issuing the order.

"Fire at will"

The roar of the tank was almost deafening, and the recoil made the tank jerk backwards. The event took less than a second. One moment the car was there, the next moment… it just wasn't. In its place was an explosion of plasma and fire, followed by a rain of burning metal. Claire and Mathew were in awe. "Oooo, Ahh!" Jim had to admit, the display almost looked like fireworks. _I really nailed this whole bring your kid to work day. Oh yeah, score one for Jim!_ He congratulated himself.

His victory was short-lived though. Not a moment later the ground beneath the tank rumbled. Liam was the first to inquire. "Uh, sir? What was that?" Oddly enough Claire was the one to reply. "A big hole just appeared where the car blew up. Was that supposed to happen?" Jim stood up and looked out of the hatch. "No, it wasn't. The hell?" Jim saw a few zerglings pulling themselves out of the rubble. It was actually kind of funny, they looked pretty shaken and disoriented. But Jim had spent enough time with the Zerg to know that where you see a few zerglings, there are sure to be many more. _Aw shit, what did I do?_

It was at that moment that a sharp pain wracked his head, accompanied by a very familiar angry voice. " _Jim I swear to god you alone give me more grey hairs than the rest of the galaxy combined!"_ Sarah yelled. _"You don't have hair darlin'."_ He joked trying to sound upbeat despite his splitting headache. _"And what's the deal?"_ He asked. Though if the dishevelled zerglings and Sarah's tone said anything, he already had a pretty good idea that he had messed up big time. _"You just blew up an entrance to the underground hive you moron! You playing around with your big guns just cost me twelve zerglings and three hydralisks!"_

 _Oh. Oops. "Well why the heck did you put it in the middle of nowhere under a rusty car?"_ Jim rebuked. _"So that Civilians wouldn't stumble into it! But apparently it's not idiot proof. Oh wait it is. It's proof you're an idiot."_ Countered Sarah, getting even more annoyed. Jim thought Sarah was overreacting. The Zerg could just dig another entrance. It really wasn't a real cause for concern.

Mike and Liam on the other hand, were very concerned. They had just witnessed what appeared to be their commander grip his head in pain, and then proceed to sit down in place and make different facial expressions for a good thirty seconds. For all they knew he may have just had a stroke followed by a mental breakdown.

"Uh, sir? Mind filling us in on what's going on in your head?" Mike asked. Jim immediately realized how silly he must look having his mental argument. "It's okay private. However, apparently we just blew up the entrance to the Zerg hive." Liam laughed. "Well that's great! Right? They can't attack us now!" Everyone looked at him, waiting for Liam to get why it wasn't a good thing. "Oh, yeah." His face fell as he realized what this really meant. "They are our main line of defence… and we just shot them in the foot. Metaphorically. Sorry Sir, still getting used to this whole Zerg-ally thing."

Mike started laughing and turned to face Jim. "I guess that whole mental episode was you being in hot water with the wife huh? And here I thought my girlfriend could give me hell. You must have a whole other level." He laughed again. This time Jim chuckled a bit. "You know Mike, after almost a decade, you'd be surprised at what a man can get used to." He turned to his kids. "Okay kiddies, time to head back to base before your mother realizes that I had you here to help me blow up our defences." Unfortunately for Jim, Sarah was still listening in on the conversation. _"YOU DID WHAT?!"_ Everyone heard it this time.

Liam was the first to pipe up. "Sir, I think we should high-tail it back. An ultralisk just un-burrowed and turned to face us. It doesn't look happy." Jim couldn't agree more, but before he could issue any sort of command, the ultralisk charged. It quickly reached them and picked up the tank firmly between its tusks, being careful not to crush it. It then started walking in the general direction of the base with its payload of Terrans in-a-can. _"Jim, we are going to have words. You hear me?"_ Sarah said to him telepathically.

Claire and Mathew were having fun with this new development. "We get to ride with Bessie the ultralisk! Wheee!" Mathew chimed. God, the kids and their incessant naming of every Zerg creature they came across. Which happened very frequently considering their parentage. Oh well, at least they were having fun.

Mike, Liam, and Jim on the other hand were a little less amused. "Gentlemen, I think it is safe to say that I am in _real_ trouble with my wife right now." Jim said. Liam couldn't agree more. "Commander, if this is hot water I really don't want to see what full-out rage is. My wife threw a plate at me once. I think yours might throw a whole building at you." Jim just sighed and sat down calmly, waiting for events to unfold. He would probably get an earful when he got home. He smiled to himself. Everything would be fine, she never was really able to hold a grudge against him. Fights with Sarah were hard, but that just made it all the better when they eventually worked it out. And they _always_ worked it out.

Claire and Mathew ran over to their dad, jumping up and down with excitement. "Dad. That was the best bring your kid to work day ever!" Claire said. "Yeah! Totally awesome! Can we do it again next year?" Mathew added.

Jim pulled his kids into a hug. For all of the crap he had had to put up with during his life, these little tykes made it all worth it. "I don't think I am the one who will need convincing."

With that last comment the gang sat down together as a family. Jim was sure that his kids would remember this day for a long time to come. _Best bring your kid to work day indeed._

* * *

A.N. Hey guys! I'm back!

So I have had zero free time for the past couple weeks with university interviews and doing the sound for my school's play for the Sear's Drama competition. Woohoo we made it to regionals! (RIP my free time )

That being said, I was able to pump out another chapter over March break! Hope you like it! I got a request for more Raynor in the story and I totally agree. I was stuck on the Kerrigan side for a while. I also want to give a big shout out to my older brother for the 'bring your kid to work day' idea.

I am going back into no free time mode as my drama club prepares for regionals, so I am not sure how long it will be until my next chapter upload. Sorry. Being tired and having zero free time sucks all the creativity and motivation out of me, and I don't want to put out anything but my best work for you guys. For your sakes and mine.

That being said I still have a few ideas for the next chapter. I'm thinking along the lines of a more Kerrigan and Raynor focus, or a family trip/vacation, but I want to hear from you guys! I get some great ideas from your feedback and every bit helps. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as I want to keep improving my writing. Making sure I portray the characters and the StarCraft setting properly is equally important to me as coherent writing and consistency.

I would love to hear any of your ideas for scenarios, character development, and anything else. That is the great thing about posting this online, it is an interactive author-reader process. I always read your comments and take all of your ideas into consideration.

You guys are what keep me going. Stay awesome!

-epiclink8480

P.S. the next section is an explanation of my upload schedule, or lack of thereof. So feel free to ignore if you are not interested.

* * *

I received a request to share my upload schedule with you all. I will take this opportunity to announce that... I don't have one... I'm sorry about this fact, but the truth is that my muse is really spontaneous. I write when I feel inspired so that I put 110% into every word. I actually had the first chapter on my computer for months before I decided to why-the-heck-not post it to . Something that, before then I never would have done.

I think that if I force my writing it will become a chore, and when it becomes a chore, it becomes literary trash. Ideally, and this is a best case scenario, I would upload every two weeks or less. But with my school, extracurriculars, and anxiety disorder (yes it is a thing, and no I'm not grabbing for sympathy or expect any) , I sometimes have what I call dry-spells for my creativity and ability to produce inspired fiction. In reality, I have no idea when the stars will align and I will have inspiration, time, and low anxiety at the same time.

I will try to continually upload new stuff and try to fuel my muse with happy music, fan art, and other StarCraft lore.

Thanks for bearing with me, and I hope my erratic upload schedule doesn't upset you all too much, but there is little I can do about it if I want to produce quality, heartfelt fiction.


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